Phillies Opening Day 2011

It’s Christmas morning, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one: it’s Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park. If you’re not stoked, you are a soulless, heartless being. Roy Halladay will attempt to start the Phillies off on the right foot and defend his 2010 National League Cy Young award against the Houston Astros. Brett Myers will toe the rubber for the Astros, looking to exact revenge against his former team.

Despite a continued battle with injuries, the Phillies are much more optimistic than the Astros going into 2011. They are looking to earn a division title for the fifth year in a row with what may become the greatest starting rotation in baseball history. The Astros are coming off of their second consecutive sub-.500 season and don’t have too much to look forward to this year. Their second-highest paid player actually plays for the Phillies: Roy Oswalt.

Lots of tables to follow to help preview the series, including both a look into the past and a look into the future. Use the comments below as an open thread for today’s game and this series in general. If you’re going to the game today, bring a space heater!

I’m going to predict the Phillies win 2 of 3 in this series, taking Halladay & Lee’s starts and losing Oswalts. Of course that means the Astros will win Happ’s start, which should make FanSince09 happy.

Dustin

Really, we get two more losses because he thinks the NL overall is tougher? Is he just pulling this stuff out of his butt? I am sure 92 wins is certainly a possibility, but are bullpen issues (two wins) and NL strength) a reason to say we’re four wins less than last year?